Beyoncé’s Mother, Tina Knowles, Reveals She Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Last Year

The 71-year-old fashion designer was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer last July.

Tina Knowles (L) and Beyoncé Knowles attend the unveiling of the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center in New York City on March 5, 2010. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Tina Knowles, the mother of Grammy Award-winning singers Beyoncé and Solange, has revealed that doctors found last year that she had two breast tumors.

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my left breast,” Knowles, 71, shared during a recent interview with “CBS Mornings,” adding that the discovery left her “in disbelief.”

Knowles told the morning show that she missed a mammogram appointment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and forgot to reschedule her screening until July last year. It was then that doctors discovered the two lumps in her left breast—one of which was benign, and the other was cancerous.

“It was Stage 1, which I thought was the earliest stage, and then when I told my sister she said, ‘No, actually there’s a zero,’” Knowles recalled.

“So if I had gone for my mammogram, I would have [caught] it at the zero stage. Thank God it was still very small, hadn’t spread—it was a very slow-spreading cancer.”

According to the American Cancer Society, women aged 40 and 44 have the option to undergo mammograms—breast X-rays that help doctors detect breast cancer—once a year. However, the organization recommends that women between the ages of 45 and 54 should be screened annually; those who are 55 or older have the option to switch to biannual mammograms.

Knowles underwent a lumpectomy in August 2024 to remove the cancerous tumor. She chronicled her experience with breast cancer in her new memoir, “Matriarch,” out on April 22.

“I struggled with whether I would share that journey [in the book] because I’m very private,” the fashion designer told People on Tuesday. “But I decided to share it because I think it’s a lot of lessons in it for other women.”

Knowles added that it’s “important not to slack on your mammograms.”

“I think as women, sometimes we get so busy and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test,” she said. “Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me.”

Knowles took to Instagram on Tuesday to discuss her new book, expressing excitement about being able to share her story with the masses.

“Thank you for supporting me on this journey,” she penned. “I hope my story inspires you to embrace your own power and legacy. I can’t wait for you all to read it!”